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Bangladesh is prepared to do whatever is needed to reduce the trade deficit, the chief advisor says
Published : 07 Apr 2025, 06:27 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has sent a letter to US President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider the newly imposed tariffs on Bangladeshi exports.
In the letter, Yunus urged Trump to “postpone the application of the reciprocal tariff measure on Bangladesh exports to the US for three months.”
Speaking at the Investment Summit held at Hotel InterContinental on Monday, Yunus’s press aide Shafiqul Alam said the chief advisor assured Trump of Bangladesh's commitment to doing whatever was necessary to help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.
As part of that commitment, Bangladesh has pledged to increase imports of US agricultural products, lower tariffs on American goods, and remove existing non-tariff barriers.
Trump’s new tariffs on goods from over 100 countries will impose a 37 percent supplementary tariff on Bangladeshi exports, increasing the total tariff to 52 percent, up from the previous 15 percent.
The US is the largest market for Bangladeshi apparel. In 2024, Bangladesh exported goods worth $8.4 billion to the US, with garments accounting for Tk 7.34 billion of that.
The development prompted Sunday’s urgent meeting, which brought together several government advisors, senior officials from the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO), and representatives from the business community.
In the letter on Monday read, “I write to assure you that we in Bangladesh will take all necessary actions to fully support your trade agenda.”
“Shortly after your inauguration, I sent my High Representative to Washington DC to indicate our intent to substantially increase American exports to fast-growing Bangladesh markets of 170 million people. We were the first country to take such a proactive initiative.”
“We are also the first country to enter into a multi-year agreement to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US and have been exploring further collaboration since you have lifted the freeze on LNG export permit,” it added.
Bangladeshi workers had been working with US counterparts to identify specific actions to rapidly increase American exports to Bangladesh, he said.
Yunus also mentioned that a key focus of Bangladesh’s action is to significantly increase imports of US farm products including cotton, wheat, corn and soybean, which would contribute to the income and livelihood of US farmers.
He also mentioned that Bangladesh has the lowest tariff on most US exports in the South Asian region and continues to commit to zero tariffs on American agricultural commodities, as well as on scrap metal.
“We are working on a 50 percent reduction of tariff on top US export items such as gas turbines, semiconductors and medical equipment.”
Yunus told Trump that Bangladesh would remove an array of non-tariff barriers to US export by eliminating certain testing requirements, rationalising packaging, labelling and certification requirements, and undertaking trade facilitation measures, such as simplifying customs procedures and standards.
The interim government head pointed out that Bangladesh “executed the necessary steps” to launch Starlink and it would “usher in a new era” for US businesses in Bangladesh across several advanced tech sectors including civil aviation and defence.
“We will complete the ongoing and planned actions within the next quarter. Please allow us the necessary time to smoothly implement this important consultation with the US officials,” it added.
